Sybil Bruncheon's "Let's All Meet The Neighbors!"... Quinton “Perky” Parkelfen...
/Quinton “Perky” Parkelfenn of Gunque, Alabama, had been raised among turnip, rutabaga, and cabbage farmers down near the gulf, but decided that he wanted something a bit more glamorous!... after all, he pointed out, not only were the vegetables his family produced ugly to look at, but they were notoriously sources of ridicule; smelly to cook and certainly the source of after-dinner flatulence! His hometown of Gunque was so successful every year at the Alabama State Fair vegetable competitions, that it was often introduced as “Stunk, Alabama” much to the uproarious delight of the crowds from other towns as the blue ribbons were handed out! Quinton’s family had won their own impressive share of blue ribbons over the years for their fresh produce, and also for the Parkelfenn womenfolks’ imaginative recipes that they had created with their vegetables; “Granny’s Garlic Gazpacho À Go-Go”, “Going Gaga for Rutabaga Au Gratin!”, and “Cabbage, Carrot, and Carob Cookie Crisps” all won special awards, and were even published in the Appalachia Homemaker’s Holiday Compendium and the bestselling “This Is Your Alabama Foods & Fancies Cyclopedia”.
And to think, it had all started with Edna Parkelfenn, Quinton’s great-great grandmother, so famous for her turnip and banana ketchup which had consoled the Confederacy through so many defeats during the Civil War. Even so, Quinton couldn’t bear being associated with his family’s vegetable heritage… particularly cabbage cookie crisps and turnip-banana ketchup. And that’s why he waited until his parents had passed away and most of his family was gone before he refinanced his farms, plowed up everything and cleared all the hundreds of acres of their crops, and planted a persimmon grove… Within the decade, he had created his “Perky Parkelfenn’s Pucker-licious Persimmon Pie” empire. And did all the commercials himself… just like his hero, Tom Carvel.
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